Dr. Nina gives me a soft look. “Kids are far more aware than we think. Even if he didn’t understand the details, he may have sensed the tension subconsciously. And that can absolutely affect a child’s behavior.”
Patrick shifts beside me, his knee brushing mine. I’m too busy thinking about how we may have ruined our kid to worry about him sitting so close.
I smooth my hand over my jeans, trying to take in every word without feeling like I’m drowning in guilt.
“So what do we do now?” I ask quietly.
Dr. Nina smiles, not unkindly, but with the kind of honesty that doesn’t cushion the truth.
“Well,” she says, “we start by showing Milo that while your marriage ended… his family didn’t.”
“Okay,” Patrick says beside me, shifting forward a little like he’s ready to take orders.
Dr. Nina looks between us. “Is there any activity you used to do together as a family? Something consistent? A ritual or routine he might associate with the three of you?”
I think about it, but Patrick gets there first.
“Well… yeah,” he says. “On our days off, mostly Sundays, when Lore wasn’t on shift, we had a routine. We’d take Milo out for the whole day. The park, long walks, sometimes the pond if the weather was good…” He glances at me briefly. “Then we’d have dinner out. Just the three of us.”
He looks back at Dr. Nina. “It was our thing.”
“Good,” Dr. Nina says, nodding like she was hoping we’d say that. “I’d like you to start that again. The family day.”
Patrick and I both straighten a little.
“But,” she adds gently, “with one change.”
We wait.
“Instead of one of you taking him home afterward, I want you totogetherdrop him off for a sleepover. At his grandparents’, a cousin’s, a close friend’s house, wherever is normal for him.”
Patrick frowns slightly. “Together?”
“Yes,” she says. “That transition is important. He needs to see the two of you cooperating, being united whereheis concerned. It shows stability.”
I nod slowly, letting her words settle. It makes sense. It also makes my stomach twist.
“Won’t it be confusing?” I ask. “He’s used to not seeing us together, and now…” I trail off, unsure how to finish.
Dr. Nina tilts her head. “He’s used to seeing you as acouple.Now he needs to see you asparents.Divorced, but still a team.”
I steal a quick glance at Patrick. He’s gone still.
I clear my throat. “We’re… actually not divorced.”
“Oh?” Dr. Nina says, brows lifting. “Can I ask if it’s in the works or…?”
I bite my lip. “We haven’t filed yet. I mean, I have the papers but-”
“You do?” Patrick cuts in, his voice rough.
I nod, still avoiding his eyes. “I thought it was time.”
Patrick goes quiet after that. Not tense, not angry… just quiet in a way that makes me believe he’s shut down.
Dr. Nina notices, of course she does. She folds her hands and gives us both a measured look.
“Well, there’s a lot to unpack there,” she says gently. “And as you’re aware, wedooffer couples counseling.”
